


Window

by floatingaway4



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, I'll make it a thing, M/M, Original Character Death(s), domestic angst, references to shooting and violence, that is so a thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28678212
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingaway4/pseuds/floatingaway4
Summary: Alex and Henry are at home when their peaceful afternoon is shattered.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 22
Kudos: 138





	Window

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story my brain made me write, and it wouldn't stop bugging me until I wrote it. I was going to post it at the beginning of January but after the insurrection I felt like we'd all had enough violence for a while. 
> 
> This story is...intense. It involves shooting and the death of an "off-screen," unnamed, original character. I'm telling you this because I only want you to read it if you're comfortable with that. Henry, Alex, and Ellie don't get hurt. 
> 
> If you're not, no problem! I'm posting a fluffy kidfic story at the same time! You can read that one instead!
> 
> Thanks to Evie and Gretchen for feedback and general awesomeness!

Henry walks slowly back into the room, moving cautiously to stand in front of Alex. 

“I put her to sleep in our bed. She was going to end up there anyway.” 

Alex doesn’t look up from his seat on the sofa, focusing on the amber bottle in his hands. “Great. Now on top of everything else, I’m a shitty father and I made my kid cry.” 

“You’re not…” Henry crosses his arms protectively, miserably, and stares down at the plush carpet beneath his feet. He actively battles the tears that burn his eyes. “Are we still fighting?” 

  
******************  
  


_Earlier that day_

They’d never wanted the damn thing. 

Their security teams had insisted on them having one anyway, especially since either of their parents could visit and that would be a security nightmare. The agents also made them practice using it once every few months. In Alex’s mind, it just took up valuable closet space. 

Until they actually had to use it. 

Alex had just walked into the living room, on his way to show Henry something he found on Twitter. Henry was sitting on the couch with his laptop while Ellie played with her toys on the floor. 

There was a loud crack against the big bay window. The outside layer of glass shattered, the bulletproof layer just shuddered. For a half-second they thought it was a bird. At the same time, they both realized they were horribly, horribly wrong. Henry grabbed Ellie and shoved her roughly into Alex’s arms. At the bottom of the stairs, Henry paused, standing there just a second too long, long enough for Alex’s eyes to widen, for Alex to grab Henry’s arm and pull. 

They ran up two flights of stairs and into one of the spare bedrooms. Henry detoured into their bedroom to scoop David off their bed. Alex held Ellie in one arm and tried to punch the right numbers into the keypad with shaking fingers. Henry squeezed his neck firmly, silently encouraging him to relax. The goddamn green light finally blinked on and the panel in the wall slid open. Henry shoved a few jackets on hangers to the left, moving them back to cover the panel. It’s not brilliant camouflage and isn’t really hiding anything, but they’ve been told that every little bit of effort could buy them a few precious seconds. 

The room isn’t huge, but it isn’t meant to be lived in. There are video screens connected to the cameras at their front and back doors. Their security teams had stocked it with a case of bottled water but nothing else. 

David planted himself in Henry’s lap and wouldn’t get up. He started to whimper, and they were more afraid he’d upset Ellie than anything. 

Alex started shaking uncontrollably. Henry reached over and pulled him into his side, took Ellie from him and nudged David into Alex’s lap. Usually Alex was the one talking him down from a panic attack but everything about this felt confusing and wrong. “It’s going to be alright, love. We’re fine. We’re going to be fine,” he tells everyone, including himself. 

Alex’s phone lights up with a text from Sawyer, his lead bodyguard. “Threat neutralized. I’m coming in.” He shows Henry the text, just as they see Sawyer coming in their front door on one of the screens on the wall. 

Henry taps in the code for them to leave. Ellie, ready for bed, is obliviously falling asleep in his arms. He stands in the upstairs hallway, looking indecisive. David is standing between Henry and Alex, whimpering, looking between them in confusion. 

“What?” Alex snaps. 

“I don’t know where to put her down. I want her with us, but it might be safer upstairs, if…” 

Alex’s looks away. “Put her in her room. Let’s go talk to Sawyer and see what’s going on. If we need to move her, we can.” 

When Henry comes down, Alex is standing with several of their bodyguards, nodding and listening. He looks totally calm, which Henry knows is complete bullshit. He wraps an arm tightly around Alex, can still feel the skittering, vibrating nerves under his skin. 

“Is, erm...” Henry manages. 

“He’s dead,” Alex tells him flatly. 

Henry pales a little. “Okay.” 

Another agent lets himself in the front door and Henry starts to feel like he may as well just leave the damn thing standing open. He just wants to be alone with Alex and get everyone else the fuck out of their home. 

Weiss, who typically follows Alex around during the day, touches her earpiece, holds up a finger. “President Claremont’s home and the Palace were both put on a modified lockdown, in the event this was a coordinated attack and not just a lone crackpot with a gun.” 

“How do you know it wasn’t?” Alex asks, his voice simmering with anger Henry can’t process right now. 

One of the newer agents speaks up, with the confidence and cluelessness of a rookie. “This was just to scare you. If they wanted to kill you, they would’ve done it when you were outside the house.” 

Alex flinches. 

Weiss glares at the newbie, and in that moment she reminds Henry a little of Zahra. “We don’t yet,” she grits out in response to Alex’s question, “that’s why we’d like to move you somewhere safer for the night until we can be sure.” 

Alex is shaking his head before she’s even finished. “No.” 

“Alex--” Henry starts. 

Alex jerks away from him. “I’m not leaving my home. They’re not going to fucking scare me off.” 

Henry doesn’t even reach for him again, can see how close Alex is to the edge. Instead, he turns to the agents. “Where?” 

Weiss looks down at her phone and then back at Henry. “We secured the penthouse suite of a hotel. Private elevator. We’ll have complete control of who goes in and out.” She looks at Alex, sees he’s about to argue. “Just for the night. Plus, it’ll give us time to fix the window.” 

Henry watches the cloud that passes over Alex’s face as he nods slowly. “Fine. One night.” 

Weiss nods. “Go pack. I’ll ride over with you.” 

Henry turns to Alex. “You get your stuff and the baby’s clothes. I’ll get her bottles and formula and David’s things.” 

Without looking back, Alex storms up the stairs. Henry looks apologetically at the group of agents. “Sorry. Erm, thank you.” 

He follows Alex upstairs to their bedroom, where he’s dragging suitcases out of the closet. Henry takes one and flops it open, throwing his own pajamas and toiletries inside. Alex leaves the room and comes back with baby clothes and the diaper bag. He unzips the bag, looks inside, and storms back out of the room. “You never refill the damn wipes.” 

Henry opens his mouth, thinks better of arguing with Alex in this state. He gets a text from Bea and answers it quickly, just letting her know they’re fine and he can’t tell her anything else. She replies with, “same.” 

They ride to the hotel in silence, except for Ellie fussing because they had to wake her up. “We got you a crib at the hotel,” Weiss tells them. Henry nods, knowing they probably won’t put her there. He needs his whole family within arms reach right now. 

When they get to the hotel, they’re led through a back service entrance, surrounded by agents. Alex carries David, to keep him from getting stepped on by agents looking everywhere but down. Ellie starts fussing again in the bright lights of the hallway. Henry bounces her but it doesn’t make her stop. One of the agents offers to hold her, but Henry shakes his head and tightens his grip around her. 

There are no people around, presumably because security cleared the hallways. They take the elevator to the top floor, and Ellie is briefly distracted by her own reflection in the mirrored wall. Henry uses the opportunity to watch Alex in the mirror and sees the heated fury on his face. He’s glad both their hands are full, because it gives him an excuse to not reach for Alex’s hand. He couldn’t handle it right now if Alex jerked away from him again. 

They get all their things in the room, wait for the agents to clear the area one more time, and are finally, _finally_ , alone. Alex unhooks David’s leash and the dog starts inspecting the rooms.

Henry puts Ellie on one of the double beds in the first bedroom and turns on a cartoon. He comes back to dig through the diaper bag and finds a bottle, which he zaps in the microwave for a few seconds. When he comes back out to the sitting room, Alex is perched rigidly on the sofa and immediately jumps up to pace the huge room. He won’t look at Henry, just yanks open the minibar and pulls out a beer. 

“Alex--”

“Move us around like fucking pawns,” he mutters, wrenching off the bottlecap and letting it fly. 

“Alex--”

“Not now.” 

“I know you’re--”

“I said not now. You never listen.” 

“Well, if you’re going to keep being unreasonable, I’m not--”

“I am not being unreasonable!” Alex shouts at the top of his lungs. David, startled from his examination of the curtains, starts barking sharply at whatever invisible threat has made Alex so upset he’s yelling. 

Henry just stares at his husband. “Alex--” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “David, _stop_.” That’s all they need, is to get thrown out of a hotel tonight. 

Both their phones start pinging wildly with notifications. Henry pulls his out, sees it’s just the news alerts they have on each other’s names. He skims one story about the incident and assumes they’re all the same. He mutes his phone, unable to turn it off in case either security or his family need to reach them. A text from June bubbles up just as he’s putting it away. 

“Have you talked to June?” 

Alex shakes his head. 

Henry sighs and responds to her text, letting her know they’re fine. He doesn’t ask where she is, assumes she’s fine if she’s texting, and stuffs his phone back in his pocket. 

“What the fuck were you gonna do, Henry?” 

“I….what?” 

“You weren’t coming with us.” He turns to face Henry, fury and tears in his eyes. “You were gonna stay downstairs, and what? Get killed? While we waited for you upstairs and--” 

Alex’s phone is still blowing up, an irregular pattern of chimes that he doesn’t seem to notice. David starts barking again, pressed back against the wall but desperate to join the conversation. Henry is so focused on Alex that the yapping only registers as a ringing in his ears. 

“I wasn’t, I don’t...I don’t _know_ what I was going to do. I just thought…” He runs a hand nervously through his hair. “I just thought if I could buy you a little time--” Henry considers wrestling Alex’s phone from his pocket and hurling it across the room so he can finish a fucking thought. 

“What? By dying?” Alex’s voice is rising. “Because that is a super fucked-up plan, Wales. I didn’t realize you had training in hand-to-hand combat. When did you have time for that? Was that before or after polo lessons?” He takes a swig of beer, slams the bottle down on the coffee table. “I mean, forget the fact that…that I don’t know how to live without you.” His voice sounds _strangled_. He stops to gasp for air, looking so helpless it breaks Henry’s heart. “But….but if something happens to you, what do you think will happen to her?” He points toward the bedrooms. “Your grandmother will take her away from me so fast my fucking head will spin.”

Henry stares at him, dazed, wondering if Alex slipped into Spanish, if that’s why what he just said made no sense. “Alex, Ellie is yours, just as much as she’s mine. She’s ... _ours._ ” 

But Alex is shaking his head. “She’s _royal_ , Henry. She has royal blood. How many times have you told me about bloodlines and birthrights, huh?” He jabs a thumb toward his chest. “As far as your grandmother is concerned, I just signed a fucking piece of paper. And if you…” Alex sounds like he’s been punched, the wind knocked out of him. He swipes at his eyes. “If you _die_ , they will fight me for her. And who do you think’s gonna win, me or the Crown and its army of lawyers? I can’t--” 

Ellie suddenly appears in the doorway, staring at Alex with wide eyes, red-faced and sobbing. 

Henry glares at Alex, who looks panicked and guilty, then rushes over to scoop her into his arms. “It’s okay, sweetie, Papa’s just tired.” The crying fades as Henry takes her back down the hallway. 

About twenty minutes later, Henry walks slowly back into the room, moving cautiously to stand in front of Alex. 

“I put her to sleep in our bed. She was going to end up there anyway.” 

Alex doesn’t look up from his seat on the sofa, focusing on the amber bottle in his hands. “Great. Now on top of everything else, I’m a shitty father and I made my kid cry.” 

“You’re not…” Henry crosses his arms protectively, miserably, and stares down at the plush carpet beneath his feet. He actively battles the tears that burn his eyes. “Are we still fighting?” His throat feels raw and clogged with unshed tears. 

Alex picks at the label on his beer bottle, sets it gently on the coffee table. He raises his head, finally looking Henry in the eye. Henry can’t remember ever seeing him look so devastated. “I don’t wanna fight with you,” Alex says softly, his voice breaking. He stands up and presses his damp face into Henry’s shirt, clings to him and inhales deeply. Henry tightens his grip around Alex’s waist and relaxes for the first time all evening. “I was just so scared,” Alex whispers. 

He runs a hand through Alex’s hair, slides it down to rub his back. “I know, love,” Henry murmurs. “So was I.” 

Alex sits down, pulls Henry to sit next to him. “She okay?” 

Henry nods. “She’s too little to know what’s going on. I think she just woke up in a strange place and you--we--startled her. She went right back to sleep.” His mouth slides into half a grin. “David stayed with her.” 

Alex looks down at the floor, silent and so still that Henry almost wishes he was still pacing. He presses the heels of his hands into his eyes, and blows out a slow, shaky breath. 

“I’ve never wanted to kill someone, Henry.” He looks up at his husband. “Not really. I mean I hated Richards, but not...I mean, I wanted to kill this guy. I still do. He’s dead, but I still do.” He stares down at his hands. “Like, with my bare hands, or with a gun, whatever, I just…” 

Henry rubs Alex’s forearm slowly, the same motion he uses to gentle a horse. “I know.” 

“Growing up, especially on my dad’s side of the family, some of my relatives spewed some real macho bullshit...and I didn’t think I’d absorbed any of that, but turns out I did. Because all I could think about was that I’m a man and I’m supposed to protect my family.” He looks up, blinks hard, like he’s willing the tears back. “And instead, I hid like a fucking coward.” He picks anxiously at his nails. “You didn’t, though, you were gonna stay and fight.” 

Henry shakes his head, gets up to pour himself a glass of whiskey. “Actually, I’ve never been so completely _aware_ of how useless I am in situations like these until today. We were only ever taught evasion and escape, Bea and Philip and I, although Philip at least has military training.” He huffs out a bitter laugh, sits back down on the sofa. “ And you were right, my dance classes and polo lessons weren’t particularly helpful for life in the real world.” 

Alex shakes his head. “I’m so sorry, baby, I shouldn't have said that. That wasn’t fair.” He leans his head on Henry’s shoulder. “And I’m sorry I was an asshole, too,” he says softly. 

“Don’t apologize, darling. We’ve had a long day.” He takes a deep breath, braces himself, because he’s never been able to lie to Alex. “You were right though, I was just going to...I was willing to….” 

Alex pulls back a little, holds Henry’s face between his hands. “Baby, I need you. I can’t do this without you. I can’t...” he chokes on a sob, “ _be_ without you.” He takes a deep, shuddering breath. “Please promise me you won’t do anything dumb like that again.” He tilts his head toward the door. “We _have_ people to protect us, all of us.” He gives Henry a weak smile, ignores the tears running down his own face. “You’re not James Bond.” Henry winces, embarrassed, and Alex wraps his arms around him, starts massaging the base of his neck gently. “And I don’t need you to be an action hero. I need you to be my husband, and our daughter’s father, and my best friend, and I _really_ need you to not get yourself killed doing some dumbass risky thing, okay?” 

Henry kisses him, a promise. “We’ll call our adoption attorney tomorrow, see what we can do about tightening up our paperwork.” He kisses Alex again, this time on the forehead. “I can do that much, at least.” 

Alex nods, reaches over to take Henry’s hand. He takes a deep breath, one last thing on his mind. 

“Maybe we should think about moving, too.” 

“Leaving the city? For what, the suburbs? I don’t really see us on Long Island.”

Henry sees Alex’s jaw tighten. “Leaving America.” 

He turns to look at Alex, starts shaking his head. “What? No. Absolutely not.” 

“That place is a literal fortress, H. We’d be... _she’d_ be safe there.” 

Henry is still shaking his head. “No. That’s not even up for discussion. No.” 

“Henry--” 

Henry looks away from him, gets up and walks across the room. 

“Who’s being unreasonable now?” Alex asks quietly. 

“You don’t know what you’re asking, Alex,” he hisses in a fierce whisper, pointing toward the bedrooms. “You don’t want Gran to take her from you, but you’re willing to move us right into one of her goddamn homes?” His breath shudders out of him. “I’m not letting her grow up like…” Henry pulls at his hair, something Alex hasn’t seen him do in a while. 

Alex jumps up and rushes over to Henry, pulls his hands down and holds them gently at his sides. “Baby, stop, stop.” Henry stares at the floor and Alex dips his head to meet Henry’s eyes. “Hey, _hey,_ look at me.” Henry does. “I’m sorry, okay. You’re right,” he says in a rush. “We aren’t doing that. I just…” Alex drops Henry’s hands, swipes his own face. “If something happens to her because of...because of who we are, I …” 

Henry huffs out a tearful sigh. “I know, but...” Henry starts to say they knew all this, talked about it when they decided to become parents, but it was all so abstract then. There wasn’t a very real little person in their lives who giggles when they swing her between them at the park and refuses to eat peas and always kisses David’s head before bedtime. 

“Come on,” Alex says, taking Henry’s hand and leading them both back to the sofa. Henry sits down and pulls Alex in close, wraps him in his arms. “We’re not making any big decisions tonight,” Alex assures him. “We’re just going to get some sleep and be glad that we’re all safe.” 

Alex picks up Henry’s left hand in his own, runs his thumb over Henry’s wedding ring. “Vows?” Alex asks. 

“Vows,” Henry nods, kissing the top of his head. 

It had started as a bit of a joke. They’d realized, after being married for a few months, that there were things they should’ve added to their wedding vows. Practical, less romantic things, like, “I promise not to watch the new episode of Drag Race without you again” and “I promise not to eat the rest of the fried rice you were saving just because you were half an hour late coming home from work.” 

But it became more than that. It became a way to end fights, to actually promise to change, instead of just apologizing. 

“I promise,” Alex starts, turning his body a little, his fingers lightly stroking Henry’s chest, “to not...to _try_ not to be an asshole when I get scared.” He lifts his head to look Henry in the eye. “And I promise to never again suggest that we move into the palace because that was obviously some kind of temporary insanity shit and I’m so, so sorry.” 

Henry tightens his arms around Alex. “I promise not to intentionally put myself in harm’s way, unless there’s no other option.” Alex presses a kiss to the underside of Henry’s jaw. “And I promise to _realize_ that you become an asshole when you’re scared. Especially when you’re scared for me, and for _our_ daughter.” He closes his eyes. “I don’t know how to talk to you when you’re like that, love.” 

“I know. I’m sorry.” Alex whispers, buries his face in the crook of Henry’s neck. “I’ll work on that, I promise.” He can feel Henry nod. 

Alex’s phone buzzes and he takes it out so they can both see. 

“They took mom and the Palace off lockdown. We’re cleared to go home once they fix the window. But we’ll have extra security for a few weeks.”

Henry stands, reaches for Alex’s hand, and leads him to the bedroom. Ellie is sprawled on the pillows and David is curled at the foot of the bed, snoring lightly. Alex looks up at Henry with the easy smile Henry missed, that he hasn’t seen in hours. Henry leans down for a soft, sleepy kiss. They get ready for bed silently, and Alex starts to climb in on his usual side, with Ellie between them. He hesitates, shakes his head, realizing... “Babe, I need…” 

Henry nods. Alex carefully lifts Ellie, kisses her warm forehead, and gets back in the bed with her cradled in his arms. Henry wraps himself around both of them, his shoulders covering Alex’s, his hands on Ellie. 

Alex shifts his hand, slightly, so it covers one of Henry’s, weaves their fingers together. And between one breath and another, they both fall asleep. 


End file.
